ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS

Family and Genus:- See- LABIATAE

Common Names:- Rosemary

Homotypic Synonyms:- None

Meaning:- Rosmarinus (L) Sea-dew, a name used by the Roman naturalist and

philosopher Pliny for a plant of dewy places.

Officinalis (L) of the apothecaries, officinal medicines, sold in shops.

General description:- Much-branched, evergreen aromatic shrublet.

Stems:-

1) Generally 50-100 cm. erect, ascending or rarely procumbent, brown branched.

Leaves:-

1) 15-40 × 1·2-3·5 mm, linear, coriaceous, with revolute margins, bright green and

rugulose above, white-tomentose beneath, sessile.

Flowers:-

1) Verticillasters, few-flowered, forming a raceme-like inflorescence.

2) Peduncle and pedicels, stellate-tomentose.

3) Calyx, 3-5 mm, campanulate, 2-lipped, accrescent in fmit,.green or purplish and

sparsely tomentose when young, later 5-7 mm subglabrous and distinctly

veined.

4) Corolla, 10-12 mm long, borne in small lateral clusters, pale blue (rarely pink or

white),

a) upper lip, strongly concave and 2-fid.

5) Stamens, 2, parallel, long-exserted.

a) anthers, 1-locular.

Fruit:-

1) Nutlets, brown.

Key features:-

1) Leaves 15-40 mm.

2) Inflorescence, with stellate hairs only.

3) Branches, brown.

Click here for a glossary of terms used.

Habitat:- Open dry shrubby vegetation, scrubland vegetation , dry scrub and open

woodland, maritime rocks and fixed dunes. 0-600m.

Distribution:- Iberian Peninsula eastwards, including Cyprus and the Lebanon.

Somewhat limited distribution on Crete, but probably greatly under recored.

Possibly introduced.

Flowering time:- Jan-May and intermittently to Dec.

Photos by:- Fotis Samaritakis